ABSTRACT
Two prominent aspects of Goodson’s scholarship are foregrounded – the creation of curriculum from ‘below’ rather than above, in tandem with the recognition that ‘teachers matter’, who they are and what they stand for, when it comes to curriculum transformation. With these analytical tools indicated, the chapter turns to the fate of the Irish language in the primary school curriculum as it has travelled through time, place and ideological milieu, as a means of testing the continuing potential of Goodson’s work to enable teachers and curriculum scholars to deconstruct the contemporary curriculum landscape, their place within it and the extent to which teachers’ voices are heard in the contemporary maelstrom of perpetual reform. The analysis reveals that Goodson’s scholarship is more relevant than ever, and that the future of the Irish language, not only as a curriculum subject, but as a living language, perhaps for too long has been left as the teachers’ responsibility rather than the community; their voices need to be heard and heeded, with appropriate resources for capacity building – constructing curriculum from below.
